1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to an improved data processing system and, in particular, an improved mechanism for event monitoring. More specifically, the present invention provides a mechanism through which event monitoring in a plurality of different event monitoring systems may be integrated.
2. Description of Related Art
An event management system is software that monitors servers, workstations and network devices for routine and non-routine events. For example, routine events such as log-ons help determine network usage, while unsuccessful log-ons are warnings that hackers may be at work or that the network access system is failing. Event managers provide realtime information for immediate use and log events for summary reporting used to analyze network performance.
An event management system is typically made up of client agents that reside in the remote devices, a central component for gathering the events, an event database and a reporting system to deliver the results. A human user, such as a system administrator, may make use of the reports provided by the reporting system to determine where possible repair or correction of the operation of the network may be required.
As networks become larger, more often the network may make use of event management software that is supplied by a plurality of different vendors. For example, a company may have Tivoli Enterprises Console monitoring events in one section of its network and may have another event management system, such as Unicenter from Computer Associates Incorporated, handling events in another area of the network. Thus, a system administrator must himself/herself make separate queries to the event database and reporting systems of each event management system in order to obtain an indication of where there are trouble spots in each area of the network. It is easy to see that this problem becomes cumbersome in large networks in which there are numerous different event management systems in use.
Thus, it would be beneficial to have a method and apparatus for integrating different event management systems such that a single reporting system may be used to report events from each of the event management systems.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for integrating event monitoring and management information from a plurality of different event monitoring and management systems. With the present invention, an event management system (EMS) portal is provided which performs the operations for integrating the event information from a plurality of different event management systems in a network. A human user, such as a system administrator, may send a request for event information to the EMS portal. The request may include selections of event management systems, event management tables, and/or fields in the event management tables that are of interest to the user.
The EMS portal then uses database clients to query the databases for selected event management systems on the network. The queries request the event information corresponding to the selections in the request submitted by the user to the EMS portal. The event information is then sent to the EMS portal clients which store the event information in a portal database. The EMS portal then generates one or more event information reports and transmits them to the user.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in, or will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of, the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.